Like Wildfire
by ruripan
Summary: DEAD As they say, 'rumors spread like wildfire'. Yami takes advantage of that to boost his popularity as a superstar. What better way than to create a juicy bit of gossip by going into a fake relationship -leading him face-to-face with a certain CEO?
1. Rumors

**A/N: **Was posted first in my LJ. Thought I'd share. : Multi-chaptered. :

Cameras flashed. Hands waved. Pens and papers were eagerly thrust towards him. And all around him, he heard ceaseless cheering.

To Yami, this was what life was all about.

Although some people dubbed him a materialistic person, Yami could care less. He was realistic, at the very least. A life of fame and stardom was enough to make him contented, and everything else he needed was covered by the money he earned.

They say life could be so perfect at times that it hardly seemed believable. Yami was living the life that most people could only dream about. And it was because of that that people were awed by him.

But then, appearances can be deceiving and despite of Yami's bright smile, he was inwardly worried. After all, an actor like him could pull off something that easy…

"Look over here, Mutou-san!" voices said in unison, cutting off his thoughts.

Yami turned his head to look sideways and, seeing the familiar group of schoolgirls who always seemed to attend his movie premiers, waved to them. Normally, he would have been irked by their presence and outright ignored them but right now, he needed all the supporters he could get.

One of them, a girl with long blond hair shamelessly blew him a kiss. Yami, though he was obviously desperate to save his career, decided to ignore her.

"Hey Yami! Over here!" A familiar blonde standing by the limousine called to him, and Yami was more than delighted to see him.

"Yo, Jounouchi." Yami grinned, coming to his side. "Been there long?"

Jounouchi slapped his friend's back good-naturedly. "I've gotten used to that a long time ago! You getting in or what?"

Yami said nothing, but he flashed him a smirk before getting in, and Jounouchi followed close behind him. The door shut almost as soon as both of them slipped inside, and Yami found himself engulfed in sudden silence, with nothing more than a few soft murmurs from the crowd outside. Yami found comfort in that silence, yet there was an air of uneasiness and apprehension between the two of them. He dropped his façade almost immediately.

Jounouchi noticed this too. "There're even fewer people than the last time."

Yami massaged his temples. "Yeah, I know that. I noticed it, too."

The limousine gave a sudden lurch. Yami felt the vehicle inch forward, although slowly.

Jounouchi threw Yami a sideward glance and, seeing that the star was too frustrated to even notice the people who were taking advantage of the slow speed and crowding over to the windows, rolled down the windows himself.

"Sorry, guys! Yami is a bit tired out right now. But thanks a lot for coming!" he waved one more time and hurriedly rolled up the windows again.

"Boy, Jou, it sure is nice to have you as my manager." Yami smiled, gratitude showing in his pale face.

"Don't mention it, bud." Jounouchi grinned, but concern replaced his otherwise jovial demeanor. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just…well, tired." Yami leaned his head back. "So, how do you think should we fix this?"

Jou scratched his head. "You know, Yami, a sharp drop in ratings shouldn't really be a cause for concern. It happens all the time to other stars, too."

Yami snorted. "Hell yeah. Those very same people who end up as one-liners. Seriously, Jou."

"Well, you started out as a one-liner, too." Jounouchi pointed out bluntly, and Yami flinched visibly for a second.

"I did," he replied with distaste, "But now it's a whole new story. And whoever said that I wanted to be a one-liner again?"

Jou fell silent after that and once again, the limousine was quiet. Yami took this time to notice that they were moving a bit faster now, and that they were quite a distance away from the crowd. He waited for Jou to answer, but he doubted that Jou could come up with something else to negate him. His reasoning made obvious sense, although it _did_ sound selfish. He was stubborn to begin with, so no matter what Jou could come up with, Yami would persist to no end.

His musings were cut off by Jounouchi's voice. "So, what do _you _think we should do? What do you want to do?"

Yami's answer was automatic. "Up my ratings, of course."

"By getting more supporters?"

"I suppose."

"The reason why you probably dropped in popularity is because of the number of Masaki's fans," Jou noted, taking out a piece of paper. "Most were your fans." He added as an afterthought.

"Jou, I already know that!" Yami exclaimed exasperatedly. "But tell me _why_."

Jou sat back for a second, wallowing in his thoughts. "Well, it might be because of those rumors I've been hearing…" he muttered thoughtfully.

Yami sat bolt upright, suddenly attentive. "Rumors? What rumors?"

"I heard from someone that he read in a magazine that Masaki told a reporter that she turned down a guy, because she was holding out for another."

Yami scowled. "And? What does that have to do with my ratings?"

"Well, juicy rumors like that tend to pique people's interest pretty fast."

"I don't understand the logic in that." Yami furrowed his brow.

Jou thought for a second. "Put it this way: people are curious about Masaki. They want to know more about her life, especially her love life. Fans usually pay attention to those the most. So they flock to her, try to get as much information about it as they can. Something like that." Jou scratched his head again.

"So, you're telling me, Jou, to get myself a love life in order to get my ratings up?" Yami thought about the schoolgirls who had called him earlier and cringed inwardly.

"Well, not exactly, but that would probably get you more popular than Masaki." Jou replied, studying Yami's expression. "But there might be some other way, seeing as you don't like staying in a relationship."

Yami crossed his arms over his chest. "I quit dating a year ago. I just don't like girls. They're too noisy. But if there's not other way, I'll do it."

Jounouchi looked worried. "Yami, you don't have to force it. Fame isn't everything you know."

Yami scoffed. "Fame is everything to me. …fine, I'll do it."

Jounouchi sighed, recognizing defeat. He could not dissuade Yami, no matter what he said, once his mind was made up. "Well, if that's what you want. Now…we need to get you hooked up with someone…preferably someone who is a lot popular than you are."

Yami thought of Masaki. "There's no way I'm going out with my rival." He said defensively.

"Yeah, yeah I know that. But the only person who is more popular than the two of you is…" he trailed off and then, he visibly paled.

"Who?" Yami pressed.

"You wouldn't like it, but since you said you didn't like girls, it might work out for you-"

"_Jounouchi, who are you talking about?_" Yami interrupted impatiently.

Jou cleared his throat, hesitant. "We're talking about the current CEO of Kaiba Corporation. Seto Kaiba."

For a moment, Yami thought about the schoolgirls and their shrilly voice.

"_Look over here, Mutou-san!"_

He really hated girls.


	2. Decision

**A/N: I am so very sorry about the last chapter. I didn't even bother to disclaim...I was in such a hurry to put it up. o: Now to compensate, I will have a proper a/n for this one...**

**Correct me if I'm wrong about their names and honorifics; I didn't watch the Japanese version of YGO, rather, I had to deal with the dubbed version they show on TV. T-T**

**Thank you for the reviews. :D They're much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: YGO isn't mine. And never will be. D: The quote mentioned is from Adidas. XD**

Decision

Yami didn't know how to go about the whole idea.

Although he _did_ say that he was going to do it, that was because he thought that was the most appropriate thing to say at the moment. Besides, the idea sounded good at to him at that time. Yami was a very impulsive person, to say the least. Now that he thoroughly thought about it, Jounouchi's suggestion sounded impossible in many ways.

For one, Yami barely knew the man. In fact, he had not even become acquainted with him. All he knew about him was that he was a serious businessman who owned the largest corporation in the world. He was young, true, but from what Yami heard from Jounouchi, he had yet to get into a relationship.

That was only secondary to what bothered Yami the most.

God even knew if Seto Kaiba was into guys in the first place.

Yami, in turn, had not been unnerved with that. After all, if ever this whole idea _did_ happen, he wasn't about to take it seriously. He was a splendid actor, without question. Pulling off something like that was quite easy.

However, he was still hesitant about the whole thing. A lot of things could go wrong. The situation could change from bad to worse. And that, of course, was the last thing he wanted to do.

Yami had been mulling over these thoughts for the past two hours. And so far, thinking hadn't helped him much, except that-

"Mutou!"

Yami snapped back to reality and blinked twice. For a moment, he was confused as to where he was, what he was doing, and to whom the voice belonged to. Suddenly, clarity struck him and he realized that he was in the studio, scheduled to do some photo shoots. The voice belonged to the chief photographer who, he could clearly see, had an annoyed expression and a frown etched on his face.

"Um…yes?"

"Jesus, what's wrong with you? We've been shooting for almost two hours and so far, I haven't captured a decent photo!" The photographer said exasperatedly. He straightened his back, and Yami heard the bones crack. Although he despised the photographer, he felt guilty about it.

"I'll try to do better then-"

"We'll continue tomorrow, _if_ it gets any better than it is right now." The man interrupted, completely ignoring him. He turned his back away from Yami and instructed the others to pack up. Even from a distance, Yami could almost swear that the photographer was cursing.

Yami breathed a long and heavy sigh. He didn't realize that worrying had taken up so much of his mind, that even while working, he was starting to do a lousy job.

Something definitely _had_ to be done.

"Yami," Jounouchi came into view. He had been in the shadows throughout the entire photo shoot, but Yami knew anyway that Jou would be somewhere nearby. "Man, what's gotten into you? I haven't seen you doing this bad." Jou said, steering Yami away from the lights.

"So I've heard." Yami mumbled sarcastically.

Jou ran a hand through his blonde hair. "And I told that photographer Ishin that you weren't as difficult as he thought you were…"

Yami had had enough of guilt trips. "So _sorry_ for that."

Jou thought for a second. "Listen Yami, if you're thinking about what I said yesterday you can forget about it. It sounds impossible anyway," he remarked, shaking his head. He'd read Yami's thoughts exactly.

"_Impossible is nothing_." Yami quoted.

Jounouchi slapped his forehead. "Geez, Yami, you're such an idealist! You just don't get it-"

Just then, Jou's mobile phone rang and surprised them both. Jou fumbled in his pocket for the device and hurriedly pushed the answer button. "Hello? Oh it's you, Honda."

Yami's brow raised in question, but he said nothing otherwise.

Jounouchi rambled on, "Yeah, we've just finished. So, why the sudden call? …REALLY?! Since when? Damn it, Honda, you should've called me earlier! Yami's gonna flip when he hears this! Yeah, yeah, thanks anyway, man." Jounouchi hung up the phone and returned it into his pocket.

"What did you guys talk about?" Yami inquired, curious that his name had come up.

Jounouchi's face was troubled. "Yami, get into the car. There's something on the news that you should see…"

He went outside and Yami diligently followed. There, he found the limousine already waiting. The door was held open for him and he quickly got inside, sensing urgency in his friend's voice.

Jounouchi switched the mini television on and surfed to the news channel. "There. Watch this. It's Anzu Masaki talking to the media."

"_Masaki-san, I heard that you will be joining the stars in Hollywood! Why is this so?" A reporter questioned, a pen and notepad ready to take down notes._

_Anzu flashed him a smile. "Right! It's not that my songs aren't enough…it's because my fans are encouraging me to do so."_

"_Don't you think Hollywood is a daring first start?" Another asked._

"_No. Actually, I already have experience from when I was a child. I used to do stage plays." The crowd around her murmured and some nodded in approval._

"_Masaki-san, you are probably aware that once you enter the movie industry, you will have to compete against Yami Mutou, who is currently one of the top not only here in Japan but also worldwide. Is this one of your reasons?"_

_Anzu let out a laugh. "It's true that Yami Mutou and I have been rivals in fame here in Japan for some time now, although we have different jobs. But recently, as you all might be aware, Yami Mutou is losing support, and that same support is being transferred to me. He's already losing his place. So in answer to your question, no. It's not one of my reasons. He's no longer my rival."_

_This earned another round of whispers from the media. Another raised his hand and decided to ask a question-_

Click.

"Hey! What gives?" Jounouchi began to protest, as the set was switched off.

By Yami, no less.

That was the last straw. What Anzu Masaki made known not only to the media, but also to the whole of Japan (and possibly to the entire world, too) was the very thing that Yami had wanted to avoid. He didn't want to believe it, but he _did_ notice it. The thing that shocked him the most was that Anzu Masaki had realized it too. And she had voiced his fears for the whole world to know.

Not only that, but Masaki had clearly claimed his place as the number one top teen idol in Japan. To him, the battle for fame wasn't over yet, but to Anzu Masaki, she felt she had won it already.

But she was wrong. She had unknowingly challenged him. And he wasn't about to back out from a challenge. Especially from his greatest rival yet.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Anzu Masaki was about to kiss her popularity good-bye.

Yami's lip curled into a devious smirk. "Jou."

Jounouchi didn't like the look on Yami's face. "Er..yeah?"

"Get me Seto Kaiba's number."


	3. Conversation

**A/N: **Whoops, sorry for the late update. The earthquake thing in Taiwan delayed my posting in LJ, and this thing usually goes to my blog before I upload it here.

Conversation

If there was anything that Yami could always count on, it was Jounouchi's firm resolve to keep or to fulfill a promise. He was the kind of person who never took back his own words, no matter what the situation was. Yami liked that about him; he was a dependable friend, rain or shine.

Five years ago, when they were still in their early teens, Jounouchi, who was a year older than Yami, had made a promise to him in friendship. He said that he would always support him and stick by him, even against the world. He would do everything he could to help Yami, if indeed the boy asked for favors.

At that time, Yami had scoffed and dismissed it as one of Jou's melodramatic moments. He inwardly appreciated it though, but he wouldn't admit it to anyone else besides himself. It eventually turned out that Jou had held true to his promise. Who would've known that now, five years later, Jou would be sitting right beside him as his manager?

That fact alone prompted Jounouchi to give him Seto Kaiba's number, although Yami did see that he didn't approve of it. But Yami had ambitious plans that Jounouchi could not possibly foresee.

Yami flopped down on one of the leather seats in his hotel suite and automatically crossed his legs. He took out a small piece of paper, in which Jou had scribbled out the number of the CEO. He gave himself a self-satisfactory smirk. If Seto Kaiba would not speak to him, he would force him to. The man did not scare him one bit.

He dialed the number with his thumb and set the phone to loudspeaker. He preferred it that way, since he did not have to strain himself to hear voices over the phone. Sipping a glass of water set by his side, Yami waited for someone to pick up.

"Kaiba Coporation, Kaiba-san's secretary speaking. Who is this?" came a female voice. Yami had already expected that to happen, and he smiled to himself. Talking was something he was good at; honed by the experiences he had with the media.

"This is Yami Mutou. I would like to speak with Seto Kaiba, if that is possible." Yami replied, twisting the phone cord with his fingers.

There was a long pause. "What business do you have with him, Mutou-san?" From the voice alone, Yamu did not know whether she had recognized him. Hopefully, she did; it would make things so much easier for him.

Yami thought for a moment, thinking of the best words to say. At length, he finally said, "I have a proposition for him." He hoped that that sounded interesting enough to let him speak with the CEO.

"….please hold." A peculiar music filled his hotel suite. For a moment, Yami stared dumbly at his telephone unit, before realizing that he was put on-hold. Grumbling to himself, he sipped his water and tapped his fingers impatiently on the armrest. More than anything, he wished that he could get this over with. It had cost him his night's sleep, planning on what to say to convince the young CEO to cooperate with him.

He heard a click as the speaker returned to him, her voice cutting through his musings. "Mutou-san, he has agreed to speak with you. I will now transfer you to his line." There was a series of funny sounds as the secretary hung up the phone, only to be picked up by someone else.

"Hello?" came another voice, this time a man's. It had a slight edge to it, but was mostly monotonous.

"Hello, Seto Kaiba." Yami said, sounding calm as if the lack of sleep from last night hadn't affected him. "Has your secretary told you who I am?"

There was an impatient click of the tongue on the other side of the line. "Of course. I always make it a point to know who I am talking to," he paused, then added rather smugly, "So, what business does a teen idol like you have with me? I'm quite sure you are busy enough."

Yami raised a brow. So, the guy knew about him. It most definitely made things easier for Yami. He didn't have to spell out everything to the CEO. His only hope was that the man would consider his offer before giving a straight answer, which, Yami guessed, would probably be a flat 'no'. "I'm sure you've been told why I called," he began cautiously, ignoring his contemptuous tone earlier.

"Yes. I don't have much problems with the company right now, but I'm still interested as to what kind of proposition someone like you would make." He sounded amused.

Yami gritted his teeth. "Lucky you." He mumbled, but Seto had heard him.

"I suppose you're disturbed about that news shown two days ago."

Yami jolted, startled. How did he know about that? He decided to voice his thoughts exactly. "And I'm surprised as to why you know about that."

"Don't be mistaken. There happened to be an interruption in the news channel I was watching. It was annoying but I was forced to listen because my brother was interested." Yami heard him curse then he added, "I don't even know why I am telling this to you. Get to the point." If Yami had known him better, he would have assumed that Seto sounded strongly defensive.

"Well, to cut a long explanation short, I want to boost my ratings-"At this, he heard the CEO snort, but he ignored him and continued, "-and the best plan that my manager and I could come up with was to get myself into a relationship."

There was that impatient click again. "And how does this concern me?"

"A lot, actually." Yami thought about it for awhile. It seemed that it might not work. "The idea is: it must be someone more popular than I am to make worldwide impact. It would be stupid to go out with Anzu Masaki. So we thought-"

"-about asking me instead?" Seto interrupted, finishing his sentence. "And what makes you think I would accept?" At least, Yami reminded himself, he hasn't hung up yet.

"Well," Yami shrugged carelessly, "To tell you the truth, I don't know." So much for that sleepless night.

"Another thing: what makes you think I'm into men?" there was a tone of amusement in his voice, though of what, Yami didn't know.

"Well, I've heard you haven't dated anyone as of late. So it struck me that you were probably into guys." Yami smirked to himself. There was a pause, then he decided to add, "Also, in case you haven't noticed, the people are almost led to thinking that you're dead, since your face doesn't appear in public anymore. Your sales are probably dropping."

There was a long pause in the other line. "Clever." came the curt reply.

Yami couldn't hide his disappointment at the man's answer. "Also, if it would reassure you," he added hastily, "I don't plan on pursuing this outside of the media's watchful eye."

He thought he heard the CEO mutter something, but then his voice came clear again, "Very well," there was a pause and Yami could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "I accept. But keep in mind that I am only doing so because no one else can solve this problem in the company except me."

Yami rolled his eyes but was obviously pleased that it had gone well. "Very heroic, Seto Kaiba."

Seto hung up right after he said that.

A jolt of pleasure surged up Yami's spine. He was finally going to make a big comeback. The world had better be prepared, especially Anzu Masaki.

Jumping to his feet with his cellphone in hand, he went to the kitchen and pulled out a bag of Hershey's chocolate kisses. He ripped the bag open, pulled the aluminum foil out, and popped one into his mouth. He dialed Jounouchi's number. He waited for an answer, which came almost immediately.

"Yami? What's up?"

He sat himself on the couch, a big smile on his lips, "Care to take a guess?"

"…No. I want to know right now whatever is making you this happy."

"I just called up Seto Kaiba."

"And?"

"He agreed. I told you it wasn't a bad idea."

There was a stupefied silence on the other line. Yami laughed, then he hung up his phone without waiting for another word from his friend. He was looking forward to tomorrow.

First, a jolt of surprise, then a jolt of pleasure and now, a jolt of anticipation. He couldn't understand the flurry of emotions in his head, but all the same, he was eager to begin. For the purpose of reclaiming his position as number one teen idol, of course.


	4. Urgency

**A/N**: OMG, I so owe you people. I almost sorta deserted this. O: Almost two months without an update! oo My style has changed a bit, I think, and the characters might get OOC since I haven't seen the series in like...months oo To compensate...I made this chapter a wee bit longer. XD an extra two pages in MS word, to be exact o: I also apologize for the lack of...action. I have a lot to accomplish and I certainly am taking my time o:

Thanks again for the reviews! They make an emo person like me feel loved. o:

Oh, and I believe I forgot to disclaim in two other chapters. I disclaim YGO, and therefore it isn't mine. In this chapter and throughout the entire fic, in case I forget to mention every update. XD

**Urgency**

Simple things make simple people happy.

That was exactly what Yami was feeling right now. Of course, he would not admit to anyone else, even to himself, that he was a very simple-minded person. After all, 'fame', along with her entourage of money, power and influence, was not what one such as himself would word as 'simple'. For all he knew, it was all that mattered in such a deceitful world. 'Deceitful', referring to Anzu Masaki and her myriad of supporters (half of which were originally his, much to his resentment), and 'world' referring to whatever was left of the human population who still appreciated him.

Such were the inner workings of the mind of a seventeen year-old teen idol, who was about to get himself into the most questionable relationship in his entire life. But then again, this sacrifice was going to be worth it, in so many ways than he can imagine. He felt it in his nerves that everything was going to work out fine, and that he was going to emerge out of this unscathed, if not better than before.

And by 'better', he meant 'far well-known than Masaki will ever be'.

Yami smirked to himself, feeling rather satisfied for the first time in weeks. How he wished to put his plan into action soon. And hell, the media people (and most especially Anzu Masaki) would be taken by surprise. He would have loved to see the look on every single one of their faces, but then again, it was a pity that he only had one pair of eyes to see by. How very unfortunate, indeed.

His eyes swiveled to the ceiling, conveniently located directly in front of his face. He was lying on his back, which currently rested on the soft mattress of his bed. He had been lying motionless there for some thirty minutes now, doing nothing but stare blankly at the scant furniture which dotted his room. Of course, his brain was overworking itself on wired circuits, but that hardly showed on his outward appearance. Now, as he switched his gaze onto the innocent ceiling above, Yami noticed a small crack; hardly noticeable but a crack nonetheless. His thoughts flitted back to his so-called plans. Would it cause him some irreparable harm? What if he hadn't foreshadowed his plans thoroughly? What would happen to him then?

Shaking his mind free of such paranoid thoughts, Yami sat up and blinked slowly, refocusing his crimson eyes. Time to flip the switch back to reality. After all, all that dreaming- ah, future planning- would be wasted if he would not put them into action. On the subject of how he was planning to set things in motion, that he had no idea. Rather, he would wager that the success of his plans rested on the young CEO who, he had hoped, was better than Yami had given him credit for.

And by 'better', he meant 'capable enough to hold a realistic façade in front of the media whilst refraining from embarrassing him', of course.

It had been almost a week since his new agreement with the CEO. There had been no calls ever since that last exchange of words, and Yami was feeling rather irate from his lack of response. Not that he was expecting any more from such nonchalance. For all he knew, the guy must be busy trying to compete, for he evidently was losing in that business world of his.

Ah, business. How utterly complicated and nonsensical it all was. For the life of him, he could not keep up with countless graphs, customer complaints, and computing for the company's profit and loss. The world of entertainment- his world- was so much simpler. The only numbers he had to count were no more than the thousands; the only graphs he had to look at were his ratings; and the only profit and loss he had to take into account were whether he was making more than he was spending. Which was relatively easy enough. Sort of.

Going back, Yami briefly considered calling Seto, despite of his musings. The CEO might have forgotten the deal that mattered so much to him. And on that note, Yami began to think whether the guy really was going to get a lot from putting up this guise. Oh well.

Stretching his arm out, Yami reached for a phone and was about to dial Kaiba Corporation's number when suddenly; a peculiar ringing sound filled the air. How coincidental, he thought with a frown, picking up. "Hello? Who is this?"

Jounouchi's loud voice erupted from the gadget. "Yami! This is Jou. You wouldn't believe what happened just this morning!"

"Well…what happened?"

"Ishin asked for another photo shoot. Apparently, he was rather satisfied with the previous one. I took on his request, and you are scheduled to have it within an hour. I hope that's not much of a problem to you, 'cause I know you might be kinda busy and all-"

"No, no, it's fine with me." Yami interrupted. He was thankful that Jou was speaking to him over the phone; otherwise he would've seen the actor's sour expression. The thought of spending another two or three hours with the critical photographer unnerved him, but then again, he really had no choice regarding the matter, did he?

"That's great!" he could almost hear Jou grin widely. There was a short pause, and then the blonde added, this time with a tinge of remorse, "But Yami, we have a small problem…"

"And that would be?"

Another pause. "Well, you see, Yami, about twenty minutes ago, I sent the limo to pick you up where you're staying, but for some unexplainable reason, the car got a flat as it was turning around the corner. The chauffeur is doing the best he can, but I don't think he'll make it in time…do you think you can come over here yourself?"

Yami rubbed his temples, more of a reflex than anything else. "Yeah, I'll manage."

"That's great!" Jou exclaimed for the second time, and Yami was very well sure that he had not only said that twice for the day. "Thanks, bud! I'll see you in an hour or so! Be sure to make it in time, okay?"

"I'll be in time." Yami promised.

And then the line went dead.

And once again, Yami was left with an innocent ceiling, scant furniture, and a paranoid mind.

Back to square one.

He'd give the CEO a call later then, he mused, putting on a black coat over his attire. He was planning on walking, perhaps deliberately slow to kill some time. Best to go now to avoid being late. He could sit and wait in a café in case he came in earlier. Or do something more productive than staring holes at an already-cracked ceiling, thinking about 'what ifs.'

Yep, there were certainly better things to do.

Yami fished out a pair of shades from a nearby drawer and unhooked a simple, loose cap from the clothes rack, as if by routine. Of course, he never went out without some sort of guise, although right now, he could care less whether he was recognized or ignored altogether. It surprised him though, that no one had seen past the clothes, taking into account that he always wore the same add-ons whenever he went out for a walk.

Maybe that was because he hardly _did_ go out without being inside the limousine. Maybe the black coat effectively hid his exotic taste in clothes. Or maybe, he was losing popularity even more than he thought.

God forbid that.

---

The sunshine kissed his skin as soon as he exited the hotel.

Yami was finally outside.

Out in the open, out for the entire world to see, and out for a leisurely stroll. Well, sort of.

He'd put up his 'disguise' before he had stepped out the building. As expected, no one paid him any unnatural attention. Yami was not sure whether he should be glad that his guise had worked so effectively for such a long time, or if he should be a tad bit disappointed that the world was still turning and had not stopped to acknowledge his presence.

Hah, sometimes he was too vain for his own good. One day, that vanity would get the better of him.

His unusual hair was tamed underneath his cap, his sharp and piercing crimson eyes were behind dark sunglasses and the belts and buckles he wore for that day's shoot were jingling beneath the coat, but out of sight nonetheless. And so therefore, he blended inconspicuously with the crowd of walking people, striding past them nonchalantly but purposefully.

He was rounding a corner when he spotted his limousine across the intersection. Ah, so there it was. The chauffeur was busy talking to a policeman, probably explaining why the car had stopped in the middle of the road, causing much honking and shouting.

Boy, that guy must have it tough.

Nevertheless, Yami paid them no heed and continued further, walking for some five minutes before stopping completely in his tracks. There before him, was a mess of shattered glass scattered across the sidewalk. Some of the shards spilled across the granite road, looking pretty sharp and dangerous. That must be why the limousine had punctured a hole into one of its wheels. He had no idea that car tires were that vulnerable. That or the chauffeur must have pumped the tires with way too much air, and it happened that the car was going in an agonizingly slow rate (gee, the chauffeur must have a thing for driving slow) which evidently prevented any major damage. At least the 'driving slow' thing did someone some degree of good, au contraire to Yami's experiences.

He took another step forward, skillfully evading the glass fragments. An alley corner was coming up to his right. Alleys disconcerted him and so, he was about to walk briskly past it when the sound of breaking glass hit his unwary ears. Startled, he looked over to his right and spotted the broken shards of a beer bottle near his feet. He recognized it as the same glass material that he had seen only a few minutes ago by the intersection. The same, crazy person must have smashed it against the ground.

"Y'see that, boy? That's wha' I'd do to ya if ya don't gimme that."

Yami's eyes strayed a little further to the source of the rough voice. The figures would not have been noticed quite easily, since they were hidden behind some trash bins but then again, who would _not_ have noticed them after a beer bottle was hurled at innocent little you?

After a split second of observation, Yami noticed that three men were huddled together, clustering around a young boy. He had unkempt dark hair and wide eyes which stared back defiantly at the speaker. In his hands was a small, black case, which he was clutching like dear life. The hoodlums seemed to be after it, least that was what Yami had guessed.

"N-no, I won't give it to you! This belongs to my brother!" came the frightened, but firm reply.

Maybe he should butt in and give the little kid a hand?

One of them scowled, spitting at the ground. "Aww…izzat so?" he taunted, "Your bwig bwother can't save you now, can he? Would he rather see you hurt than lose the weedle suitcase?"

The fat guy's tone was irritating him. Yami was still having second thoughts. The whole scenario was going to be messy, he could tell.

"Maybe we should beat the shit out of him eh, Borris?" The one nearest the kid commented, his lip curling into a sinister scowl.

Borris smirked and advanced towards the boy. "Yeah, maybe we ought'a. He ain't gonna leggo of that thing unless we beat 't offa him." The kid paled and his face turned a few shades whiter.

Maybe now might be a good time to interfere.

"Hey, you three!"

All three of them, including the kid, whipped their heads around in surprise. The moment they did, Yami knew that he was a dead man.

That was because he didn't know how to streetfight.

Curse his conscience.

Borris snarled at him, much like a wolf would at its prey. Exactly what Yami was feeling right now. "Wha'? What'cha want?"

Through his sunglasses, he peered at the kid. He hoped that he would get this chance and call for help. Three against two- no, one- was not a very good match at all.

It was a good thing that Yami didn't bring his really expensive stuff.

"You guys selling drugs to that kid over there?" He inclined his head over to the little boy. Maybe if he sounded tough, they would go easy on him. Yeah, right. "That's illegal, you know." Yami knew fairly well what had happened, but it was best to buy some time. _Hopefully_, the kid got the hint right about now.

And he did, because out of the corner of his eye, he could see that he was slowly edging out of the little circle of hoodlums and looking for a way to make a mad dash. Smart boy.

Hopefully too, he would send some help. And not leave Yami dead for the rats to devour.

"No, we aren't," the smarter looking one replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "We are just having a little talk-" Rather threateningly, might I add, Yami grunted to himself, "-and who're you?"

"Just a passerby," he shrugged. The kid had a clear path to run now. "who is just concerned for the welfare of a little boy who looks like he's in trouble." Boy, he really was getting himself into deep water now.

"You little prick-" one began, but was interrupted by the smart one, who stepped forward. "Ramon, lay off for a while. We have things to settle with the kid-"

At this, the boy took his chance and ran past the three, catching them unguarded. He scampered past Yami, turned back to the way he had gone, and then was out of sight. The hoodlums stared dumfounded for a minute, before the guy named Borris came to his senses and hurried after the kid. Well, he ought to be safe now. There was little that the man could do, not with so many people around.

The other two glared at him. Ramon balled his fists, and the smart one grabbed a nearby pole leaning against the wall. This was getting seriously bad.

"You asshole! You just had to interfere, didn't you?" Ramon snarled, advancing. The smart one did the same, and Yami braced himself.

This was going to hurt. On his part, of course.

Ramon aimed a punch at his face, which Yami avoided with much haste. Not the face, dummy, he thought blankly, backing away just a bit. Maybe he should run right now, while he still wasn't cornered? It would damage his pride, yes, but pride was nothing compared to life, right?

Before he had another moment to consider, the smart guy swung the pole at him, to which Yami ducked without ease. The pole easily displaced his cap, causing it to fly and land nearby. Close call.

His tricolor hair now exposed, Yami took another step backward. The cap was of no consequence, he'd just have to buy himself a new one. He was now regretting the idea of a long, deliberately slow 'walk'.

Which reminded him, he had a photo shoot scheduled with Ishin, right? No time to waste. He really had to go.

Just then, Ramon aimed a punch at his solar plexus and it connected. Yami gasped for air, and he felt dazed for a second. And unfortunately, a second was all the smart guy needed to aim a blow to his head.

Yami was able to evade the worst part of it, but the blow nonetheless hit his head but with less force than intended.

The next thing he knew, he was hearing frantic voices from behind.

And then, he blacked out,


	5. Motives

**A/N:** I really need to watch the series again. O: I'm sorry for the inconsistency, but all honorifics will be changed to English. The intro's a bit shaky o: Kaiba's evil, I know, but things will look up later on XD

I think Kaiba might've gone OOC at some point here I had to keep on rewriting this chapter, and it was really difficult…I was working on this for almost three days and now I have three versions of this chapter. O:

As for the reason why this chapter took so long….er. I actually had this finished before my six-week trip to Shanghai. I withheld this chapter because I was not quite sure how to go about after this. So now, I've been removed from my 30-challenges in LJ due to the VERY long delay that I hadn't realized 'till recently. I am very sorry for that.

And again, I apologize for the slow-pacing of the fic! Hopefully, the next chapter will have something in it. O:

**Motives**

A huge, tall and foreboding structure stood in the middle of a cluster of lesser buildings. It towered above the rest, casting looming shadows over the streets below it, offering some sort of ominous shade to the street walkers. Bright sunshine bounced off its glassy exterior, reflecting the light and causing anyone to look up to suffer from a moment's blindness. And, marked near the topmost floor, were the letters 'KC'.

Kaiba Corporation.

Within the outrageously shiny glass, a certain brown-haired man's lip curled into a smirk, his long fingers clasping a phone handset.

"Yes…yes, of course," he said, swiveling his gigantic office chair to the side, "An hour? I understand. I'll send someone over to drop it off."

Pause. The person in the other line said something, and he knitted his brow in sheer annoyance. To add to that effect, he drummed his fingers against the surface of his desk, and his smirk was turned upside down into a frown. The nerve of that little-

"Alright, alright. If I must." He could not hide his irritation. "Understand though, that you are causing me a great deal of inconvenience. I hope that this will not happen again."

The reply came and then, he abruptly hung up. Finally.

Leaning back against his chair, he closed his azure eyes and massaged his temples with much aggravation. His brown locks were splayed above his equally dark brows, their tips resting slightly on his eyelids. His ineffably white trench coat was dotted with silver buttons, and near the extended collars were the stand-out letters of 'KC'.

Yep, Kaiba Corporation.

And its chief executive officer was none other than the famous Seto Kaiba, who was now having a small migraine from the conversation he had a few minutes ago.

Seto was a man who had little tolerance for incompetence. Though just in his early twenties, he owned the largest corporation in Japan, and possibly one of the largest in the world. And to top that off, he was a multi-billionaire, an influential individual, a powerful figure, an affluent man and…and…

Currently single.

Now how did a charming bachelor such as him elude the shackles of a relationship?

As his brother well put it, Seto hadn't had time to maintain a smooth relationship whilst handling the company with its problems (so Mokuba demanded that he make some time); he found women to be too much in demand for attention (and to this, his brother rolled his eyes and said he just couldn't –wouldn't- understand), and that they would be jealous anyway if he started dating girls one at a time (and finally, Mokuba threw up his hands, gave up, and walked out of the room). Very well put.

Which is why he decided to take up the star's offer. Who knows, he might even boost up his sales through Yami Mutou. That sort of thing could very well happen, without much bad repercussions.

The CEO tapped a finger against his chin in thought. Of course, Seto Kaiba did _not_ make any rash decisions for no particular reason.

And now, he thought to himself suddenly yet abruptly, shaking off those thoughts to focus on the matter at hand, off to settle things with that blasted engineer.

---

The traffic today just _had_ to be the worst.

Now seated in his sleek black limousine, Seto Kaiba crossed his arms, staring at the window to his side with all the hate he could muster. Not that there was much to hate in a piece of glass dividing you and the outer world of honking and shouting. His source of hate was on something else.

"Can't this car go any faster?" Seto demanded impatiently, sparing a glance at the driver's seat before reverting it back to the unfortunate window.

"I'm afraid not, sir. There seems to be a commotion up front." Came the reply.

Seto cursed to himself, and he looked beside him where Mokuba currently sat. His brother's face was pressed closely to the window, and he could've sworn that he might've kissed the window at some point. Not a very pleasant thought, indeed.

"Mokuba, get your face away from the window." He remarked bluntly.

The younger Kaiba frowned. "But I wanted to see what's wrong with the limo up ahead, and you won't let me open the windows!"

Seto glared at him, turned away, and then mumbled something about a 'bastard' and 'limo', then after that, the car fell silent once more. Mokuba had righted himself and was now craning his head to see up front, while the CEO himself was glowering angrily at the black case which sat innocently between him and Mokuba. Within it held the prototype for his newest design, along with a few blueprints. The call he had answered earlier was from the damned engineer who worked for him, and who insisted on seeing the prototype first before developing a larger, more elaborate design. Worst of all, he had insisted that Seto come over and deliver it himself, for 'security purposes', of course. Though Seto would have sworn that the bastard only wanted to stretch his strings over him, since he was the only one currently capable for the job.

He then decided that when the thing was finished, he would fire that insufferable idiot right off the hook.

That would show him not to mess with _the_ Seto Kaiba.

This thought earned the CEO a self-satisfied smirk. Just wait until-

"Brother! You're almost late for that meeting thing, aren't you?" Mokuba suddenly erupted, glancing over at Seto.

"Yes, I am. I am well aware of that, thank you." He muttered sarcastically.

Oh yes. Did he forget to mention that the fool even set him an appointment at exactly an hour after the call? And since when did one of his _employees_ set an appointment with him, the _employer_?

Seto seriously wanted to throw him to his bodyguards to beat the hell out of him. And maybe beat some sense into him. Whichever would do.

Seething, the CEO took out his cell phone from an inner pocket and speed-dialed the engineer. In his great anger, he did not notice Mokuba's curious, yet concerned look.

After two calls, the bastard would not pick up. He was really grating on Seto's nerves.

"B…brother?" Mokuba asked tentatively.

"What?" Seto snapped instinctively, and then corrected himself. "I mean, yes?"

"If you want, I'll walk over there and drop off the prototype…I know where the building is."

"Don't be silly, Mokuba." Seto replied, looking out over his side of the window again.

"Why not? It'd just take 10 minutes!" the younger retorted indignantly, shooting him a glare. Seto ignored him, for want of brooding silence.

Said silence overran the vehicle again for three minutes. The car inched forward a few times, but no more than a meter or two, much to Seto's annoyance. At the rate they were going, it would now take approximately seven minutes to get to the building through walking. Speaking of which, Seto thought suddenly, maybe he should get down right now and walk over there himself? While Mokuba stayed in the car, of course.

Just then, a loud blaring noise from behind startled him and snapped him out of his reverie. Cursing for the nth time that day, Seto shot the car from behind an icy glare, though he doubted that the driver could see him behind his tinted windows. The noise stopped as if taking cue (though it probably wasn't due to Seto's death glare), and once again, the car was placed in an aura of tension, aggravation and impatience, all emanating from one source located on the back seat. Well, who else was there?

His mind made up, Seto did not take his eyes off the window while he reached for the black case which was supposedly located at his left-hand side in the space between him and his brother.

He was surprised to grasp nothing but thin air.

Or more precisely, the plain leather of the seat where the case was supposed to -used to- be.

_What?_

At this, Seto whipped his head to the side and was alarmed to discover that the case was not the only thing missing on the back seat.

To be precise, Mokuba was missing as well.

_Shit_.

Anger momentarily replaced by a rare emotion akin to worry, Seto fumbled with the handle and stepped out of the car in haste, much to the surprise of his chauffeur.

_Mokuba, you idiot!_

Boy, today was certainly a day full of surprises.

---

_Run, run, RUN_!

It was all the raven-haired boy could think of as he drew farther away from the alley where he had just been. The incident had caused him a great amount of untold fear, seen only in his expression.

From behind him, he could hear hurried footsteps. He chanced to glance back. The man who had threatened him earlier was chasing him, and to his horror, the distance between them was growing shorter.

Mokuba Kaiba was running for his life.

While he appreciated the help from the man who had saved him, he was still going to have to save himself first. Panic clouded his logic as he gazed frantically ahead, searching for someone who could help. At the distance, he spotted a policeman, a limousine and what looked like a chauffeur: the source of the traffic that Seto had been moping about...

_Seto-! That's right!_

Quickening his dash into a sprint he crossed the road the moment the traffic light turned into red. He reached the other side of the street and within seconds, was tugging at the policeman's sleeve. "Mister!...huff...huff...there's a man...huff...chasing me...other man...getting beat up...'cause he helped me..." he panted, trying his best to narrate.

Said policeman peered to see past Mokuba, and easily spotted a man waving a beer bottle and had just skidded to a stop when he saw that the kid had gone to a cop.

Yep, definitely suspicious alright.

"Don't worry, kid," the cop reassured, taking out his oh-so-dependable baton, "I've got this one."

With that, the policeman went ahead and dealt with the hoodlum. The rest, Mokuba didn't bother to see, because he still had one more thing to do.

That was to do the guy with shades a favor and stop the rest of the gang from bludgeoning him to death. Ouch.

With a newfound resolution, Mokuba ran back to the sleek black limousine which he knew belonged to his brother, and rapped the window agitatedly to catch his attention.

---

After what seemed like five minutes of standing outside the limo in search of his brother (or rather, to the direction where he ran off to), Seto decided that he looked very much like an idiot waiting for the sky to fall down, and so with a grunt, he got back inside and shut the door with finality.

So much for that fruitless waiting.

"Did you, by chance, see Mokuba leave the car?" he asked the driver once he got in, who merely shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, sir. I was looking at the road."

Seto remained silent, an expression of irritation mixed with anxiety passing his face. He took out his mobile phone and was about to dial a number when a sharp, rapping noise caught his attention. He turned his head to the source of the noise, and then he rolled down the windows.

"What is-" he began, but was interrupted by a sudden outburst.

"BROTHER! IknowIwaswrongtogetoutofthecarwiththeprototypebutpleasepleasepleasehelpthisguywho'sgettingbeatupbecausehesavedme!"

Seto stared at his younger brother blankly for a minute, and then he narrowed his eyes. "So you got into trouble." He stated as a matter-of-factly.

Mokuba stiffened for a split second, but then he sputtered, "That's not the point here! We have to help this guy! He's over there in the alley getting beat up by two scary looking people…"

---

_Oh Ra_.

Eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.

_Head hurts….where am I?_

His eyes focused themselves on an immaculately white ceiling above him. He dimly remembered that that morning, he had been doing the same thing only in-

"Yami! Yami, thank goodness you're alright!"

Yami turned to the direction of the voice. "Jou…?" he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head tentatively, "What happened?"

"My God, Yami, what were you thinking?! You could have been killed!" Jou exploded, worry creasing his face. "The chauffeur happened to see you from across the intersection; he called me up and said that you were already unconscious when they brought you out-"

"Wait a minute," Yami interrupted, facing Jounouchi fully, "who's 'they'?"

There was a shuffling of feet behind him. "That would be me and my brother."

Yami turned around sharply, wincing at the sudden movement, before his eyes widened in surprise.

Crimson eyes met a pair of icy blue ones.

Seto Kaiba smirked, throwing a taunting look from where he was standing. "It seems like you owe me a favor, Yami Mutou."


End file.
